Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA)

[Mt bigsky]

BEIJING— Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has hired a fakes-busting veteran to a new anticounterfeiting role, a move to address the fake goods that have long drawn criticism to the Chinese e-commerce giant.

Matthew Bassiur will join Alibaba next month as vice president, head of global intellectual property enforcement, Alibaba said in a news release Monday. Mr. Bassiur previously oversaw anti counterfeiting for Pfizer Inc. and Apple Inc., and was a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice before that, Alibaba said in the statement.

“Matthew’s appointment is the latest step in Alibaba Group’s comprehensive and industry-leading efforts to fight counterfeits,” said Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma in the statement.

An Alibaba spokesman said Mr. Bassiur will help develop the processes for the company’s global anti counterfeiting efforts, while working with Alibaba’s industry partners, government regulators, law enforcement and other organizations.